


Serendipitous Serenade

by jayballing



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Any route works but CF is my favorite so we will go with that one, Characters are of age, Drinking, Drinking SAFELY, F/M, Gen, Maybe underage drinking depending of where you are, Minor Hilda Valentine Goneril/Claude von Riegan, Pre-Time Skip, Serenade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:21:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23824495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jayballing/pseuds/jayballing
Summary: When Ferdinand, Sylvain, and Hilda end up getting drunk, they decide that Ferdinand's way to Dorothea's heart is through a serenade. Nothing better than Disney's Enchanted song "True Love's Kiss."
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault & Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dorothea Arnault & Ingrid Brandl Galatea, Ferdinand von Aegir & Claude von Riegan, Ferdinand von Aegir & Hilda Valentine Goneril, Ferdinand von Aegir & Sylvain Jose Gautier, Ferdinand von Aegir/Dorothea Arnault
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Serendipitous Serenade

Ferdinand had a terrible headache. Has his room always been this bright?

He felt uncomfortably constrained. In moments, he realized he was still wearing his uniform. Why would he go to bed wearing his uniform? The thought disgusted him. He was training for hours yesterday, even forgot to make it to lunch. Certainly, he would have washed himself before going to bed.

Out of all the bizarre observations that Ferdinand was noticing, the final one was the most shocking.

Sitting on his chair, with her elbow on his desk, supporting her head with her hand, was Dorothea’s sleeping face.

How improper! What had he done to bring a lady to his room? And if he was going to be that nefarious, he should have at least given her the bed. Where were his manners?

Ferdinand was confused and upset. He was feeling sick and was grossed out by the fact he had not washed himself. He was also bewildered that Dorothea was here.

They were spending more time together. She still would not explain to him the whole bee debacle, but she was willing to enjoy a cup of tea with him and, if she was sure they were absolutely alone, she would hold his hand for brief and glorious moments.

How did they go from stealthy hand-holding to spending the night in each other’s quarters?

He didn’t have much more time to think about this as he felt an urge to puke. He saw a bucket by Dorothea’s legs (why did he have a bucket in his room?) and went for it to find an appropriate place to be sick.

His movement woke up Dorothea. He wasn’t being particularly loud, but it doesn’t take much to wake somebody up from a stiff chair.

After the first night they spent together, Dorothea woke up to a barfing Ferdinand that looked like death itself.

“Morning, Ferdie,” yawned Dorothea while Ferdinand managed to look pale but also blushing at the same time.

“G-good morning, Dorothea…” Ferdinand had no idea how to proceed with this conversation.

“Serves you right for taking the bait from Sylvain and Hilda of all people.” She said as she lazily stared at the confused boy.

“Sylvain? Hilda? What are you talking about?” Ferdinand thought the morning could not get more confusing, but he was obviously incorrect.

As those words escaped his lips, Dorothea frowned, and then gave him a warm smile. “Do you remember anything that happened last night?”

“Of course I…” He did not.

Ferdinand von Aegir had no clue whatsoever what happened between his training marathon and this morning. He remembered being determined to train more to achieve better results than Edelgard in the next battle, and that meant spend his Saturdays in the training grounds from now on. He remembered feeling exhausted, skipping lunch to optimize his time. He remembered getting ready to leave to go to dinner, and things started to get murky from there.

He must have been making a face that told Dorothea he was absolutely lost in terms of what happened last night, because she started moving in his direction and then sat next to him on the bed.

“Ferdie, last night, you got drunk. Based on the way you’ve been acting, something tells me it was also the first time you’ve drank that much.”

She was spot on. He had indulged himself with glass of wine every now and then, especially during balls and nobility events such as the opera. However, it never went beyond that. A chaste glass of wine. Very common among the Empire’s nobility youth.

“How did this happen?! I was training the whole day, I didn’t even see anybody for most of it, other than Felix that practically lives at the training grounds.” Ferdinand would never partake in any alcohol adventures again if it meant go through the confusion he was going through right now.

“I will tell the version of events that I heard from Claude and Ingrid, but you might check with Sylvain and Hilda later for their own take, as it was really their fault all of this happened.”

\-----------------------------------------

Ferdinand was exhausted.

It was close to dinner time and he had been training since he woke up. He had brought some water with him, but he was so enthralled in his training that he completely forgot about lunch and, honestly, almost forgot about dinner. His stomach would not let such oversight happen, however.

As he collected his weapons, he saw Hilda entering the training grounds. This was enough of a surprise, as he didn’t think the girl had ever stepped at the training grounds unless she was forced to.

“Ferdinand, dear, could I talk to you for a second?” Hilda was truly a delight when she was trying to convince others to do her bidding, he couldn’t deny it. He was prepared to shut her down, though. He was starving.

“Hello, Hilda! I am sure you must be seeking my assistance for one of your tasks, but I’m afraid I have to go to dinner.” He would like to talk more, Hilda has always been nice to him and encouraging him to make friends with Dorothea, but not today. Nothing would change his mind.

“Oh no! It’s not something that you could do for me, but something that I could do for you!” She had a full-fledged smile at this point.

He took the bait.

“Really? What could you help me with this evening?”

“It isn’t really helping. Sylvain found this diary that belonged to his father when he went back home last moon for a couple of days,” Hilda was clearly excited about this endeavor, as she moved her hands animatedly to explain what was about to happen. “In the diary, it talks about a tradition. Three nobles, one from each house, must gather behind the greenhouse to perform an oath to protect Fodlan from all harm. These three nobles shall be recognized by the goddess and, once the oath is completed, the witness chosen by the nobles shall spread the news of their ritual, for them to be recognized throughout the ages.”

“Oh? And how are these nobles chosen? Why have I never heard of such tradition?” Ferdinand was skeptical, yes, but he also acknowledged that the monastery was full of secrets.

“There is a catch to it. The three nobles must choose a leader after the ritual to represent them. The leader decides if the witness will spread the news or not. Whoever was the leader last time chose to not share the oath, for a reason or another.” Ferdinand had to give it to her, she was selling this.

And he was buying it.

“Because Sylvain found out about this, he decided to go on with the tradition. He talked to me about being the Golden Deer representant and we both thought you would be the perfect representant for the Black Eagles. After all, you are the epitome of what every noble should be.” Hilda emphasized the word _you_ and _noble_ it a way that was making difficult for him to not follow her into this “tradition”.

As he was about to agree to join them, his stomach made a terrible noise that made him embarrassed of being in front of a lady. At that, he had to refuse to go with Hilda.

“Hilda, words cannot describe my honor for the thought, but I must go to dinner, I have eaten nothing today. Maybe we talk more about this at a later date…?” He was intrigued after all.

“Oh, Ferdinand, I’d love to, but the ritual must be conducted on the third Saturday of the Garland Moon to be valid. If you are unavailable, that’s okay. I guess I will just find _Edelgard_.” Ferdinand knew exactly what Hilda was doing. Only a fool would fall for such trap.

He guesses he is a fool.

“Wait, I will go. If I was your first option, I am sure the ritual will be optimal if only I am present for the Black Eagles, right?”

“Of course! We would hate to go with our second option, but it could be done if you were not available.” Hilda started walking towards the exit of the training ground. Ferdinand followed her.

\-----------------------------------------

“Wait a second, I think I remember this,” Ferdinand brought his hand to his head. “Hilda did talk to me last night, and I remember that Sylvain and Claude were waiting for us behind the greenhouse.”

“Do you remember anything else?” Dorothea was still smiling, but gone was the warm smile that she was wearing and now it was closer to a smirk.

“I… Sylvain showed us the diary, I think? It was indeed written there something about this oath…” His memory was still fragmented. “He reads it to us and grabs three… flasks?” Ferdinand was getting more and more concerned by everything he remembered.

“You seem to be on the right track… Shall I keep going?” Dorothea was enjoying herself, and amidst all his confusion and frustration, Ferdinand was glad that she was enjoying his company.

\-----------------------------------------

As Sylvain brought out the three flasks, he gave one to each Hilda and Ferdinand. Ferdinand knew that it was alcohol of some sort in the container, especially with the strong smell that permeated the air once they each opened their flasks.

“Alright, everyone,” Claude, their witness, started a little speech to set the tone for the oath. They figured Claude was a safe witness considering the alcohol that was involved in the ritual. “The bravery of the blue lion, the tenacity of the golden deer, and the ambition of the black eagle gather here to today for an oath. An oath to protect Fodlan from all harm. Do you swear to be the face of Fodlan against all harm that may come to it, so help you goddess?” Claude adopted a deep tone for this, and Ferdinand has never seen look more serious.

“I swear!” Said all three at the same time.

They proceeded to drink the entire flask in one go. Ferdinand felt his throat burning, but he was so excited about finally besting Edelgard. _He_ was the hero chosen for the Black Eagles. _He_ was the epitome of nobility.

_He_ was also starting to feel dizzy.

“Well, that was underwhelming.” Said Sylvain. He went through the diary to make sure that they did everything right. He went a little pale as he turned the pages.

“So, er… guys? This ritual is not really a thing.”

“What?!” Ferdinand was perplexed. He had finally, finally beaten Edelgard, and it was all a farce?

“Turns out,” Sylvain had to stop for a hiccup. “Turns out that this whole thing was a prank my dad and his pals were trying to pull on Rodrigue back in the day.”

“Well, being the face of the Golden Deer for all danger did sound like a lot of work,” Hilda took another sip from her flask. “Did you guys really believe this ritual…”

“Oath,” corrected Claude.

“That this _oath_ ,” she looked directly at him after his little interruption, but quickly went back to the two other boys. “was a real thing? Honestly, I joined for the alcohol.” She took another sip.

“Hilda, did you not drink to the last drop? The instructions clearly said…” Ferdinand found himself surprisingly appalled by Hilda’s behavior of ignoring the oath’s requirements.

“C’mon, Ferdinand. Nobody expected us to drink everything in that flask. Nobody could handle that.” She passed her flask to Claude, who promptly tried some of the beverage.

“Sylvain! How about you?” He turned to Sylvain only to see the boy taking a sip from his flask. “YOU TOO?”

“I did take a big gulp, but there was no way I could stomach all of that. Enough to get a bit tipsy, which is nice.” He took another drink.

“All of you have NO HONOR! And YOU, why are you drinking our oath alcohol?!” Ferdinand was now pointing at Claude.

“Ferdinand, I’m with Hilda, I didn’t believe for a second this was real. Sylvain here was convinced it was the real deal, but it was probably the fact that he had an excuse to take a drink with his pals.” Sylvain nodded at Claude’s statement.

“How can I ever show my face to my peers? I was supposed to represent the Black Eagles… How could I ever hold Dorothea’s hand again after such _disgrace_.” Ferdinand had always been concerned about his image, but this was new. He felt complete shame for being a fool and for not actually beating Edelgard.

He bet Edelgard would not think this is real and ignore Hilda and Sylvain. Like he should have done to begin with.

“Oh I know! What if, hear me out, what if we serenaded Dorothea?” Hilda suggested. “She loves music and dramatic stuff, I bet she would hold your hand forever if she, like, saw you signing to her and stuff.” Hilda’s speech was getting harder and harder to understand, Ferdinand noticed.

“I wish Ingrid liked my singing. I wished Ingrid liked me.” Sylvain was talking to himself, but Hilda took his lack of acknowledgement as him endorsing her idea.

“See? Sylvain clearly thinks this is a good,” she had a hiccup. “A good idea. Don’t you agree, Claude?”

“I like when you sing to me.” Hilda had her head on Claude’s shoulder now. He was holding her hand while removing the flask from her other hand. Ferdinand wondered if him and Dorothea would ever be that comfortable. He wished that they would. They both liked singing. Music was clearly the answer to bring them closer together.

“Hilda Goneril, this is a brilliant idea! I know exactly which song we should do!”

\-----------------------------------------

“Oh no.” Ferdinand was going pale as he heard this tale further and further.

“Oh yes. Poor me, approached by three drunkards and a laughing Claude right after dinner.” Dorothea could not stop smiling. Ferdinand was mortified.

“But we are just now getting to the good part, let me finish.”

\-----------------------------------------

Dorothea was having some pastries with Ingrid and Edelgard after dinner by the gazebo. She enjoyed inviting her multiple girl friends to join her for dessert. Today it happened that each Edelgard and Ingrid were sitting next to her.

It was this relaxed scene that was interrupted by the drunk foursome.

“Dorothea Arnault,” Ferdinand walked close to her and kneeled on one knee. “you are a musical diva and you deserve to be next to somebody that can appreciate it.” Ferdinand saw Edelgard sitting next to Dorothea at that point.

“You have taken many things from me, Edelgard,” Ferdinand started.

“Like what, you dunce?” Edelgard had no patience for Ferdinand’s behavior.

“But you shall _never_ steal Dorothea’s heart!” Ferdinand brought his attention brought his attention back to Dorothea at that point.

“Dorothea, I shall sing to you a song that express my true feelings!” He motioned to Hilda and Sylvain to come closer to him. Dorothea’s jaw had dropped considerably.

“ _When you meet this someone who is meant for you, before two can become one, there's something you must do”_ Ferdinand was still kneeling, but he now had a hand on his chest and the other arm was pointing in the direction of Dorothea, who was controlling herself to not guffaw.

“ _Do you pull each other's tails?”_ Hilda sang, pulling on her own hair.

“ _Do you feed each other seeds?”_ Sylvain sang, pointing at the passing birds.

“ _No, there is something sweeter everybody needs. I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss. And a princess, I'm hoping, comes with this. That's what brings ever-aftering so happy. That's the reason we need lips so much, for lips are the only things that touch. So to spend a life of endless bliss, just find who you love through true love's kiss.”_ At this point, Ferdinand was trying to get up, and Sylvain and Hilda came to his aid. The picture was Ferdinand in the middle of this singing trio, with his arms around Hilda and Sylvain, while they were swinging side to side, getting ready for the next line.

“ _He's been dreaming of a true love's kiss. And a princess, he's hoping, comes with this. That's what springs ever-afterings so happy. That's the reason we need lips so much, for lips are the only things that touch…”_ Sylvain and Hilda sang the last part together. They pointed at Ferdinand during the first lines, but Hilda started blowing kisses at Claude towards the end. Claude, who decided to make himself comfortable for this event, grabbing a chair and sitting next to Edelgard and Ingrid.

“Isn’t this the cutest thing?” Claude quietly asked the two women, who were absolutely confused, annoyed, and amused all at the same time. Edelgard just looked at him and sighed, while Ingrid just looked at Sylvain, place her fingers by her temple.

“ _So to spend a life of endless bliss, just find who you love through true love's kiss!”_ Only Ferdinand sang the last part, looking directly at Dorothea. That was the last thing he did before he passed out completely.

\-----------------------------------------

“After that, Ingrid yelled at Claude, Hilda, and Sylvain about the dangers of alcohol and how drinking was not allowed on monastery grounds.” Dorothea finished her take on the events of the past night.

“Hold on, how did we end up here? Honestly Dorothea, why are you still talking to me? This was so embarrassing. There are no words…” He was interrupted when she placed her finger on his lips.

“To answer your first question, Edelgard and I carried you from the gazebo to your room.” She saw his eyebrows rising as far as they could go at the notion that Edelgard helped him. “You were pretty out of it, so I offered to stay here in case you felt sick. I have had to deal with this sort of situation before while I was working in the opera, so it wasn’t that hard,” Dorothea sighed, as if this wasn’t really a subject that she wanted to go into. “I figured you wouldn’t like to be taken to the infirmary in your current state. So I stayed here, making sure you wouldn’t drown on your own puke throughout the night.”

Ferdinand, for all his embarrassment, was touched. This girl that certainly got mortified by his serenade (if you could call it that) was willing to take care of him, to make sure he wouldn’t hurt himself.

He was falling for her more and more every day.

“As for me talking to you… well, Ferdie, please don’t do something like that again, but just between us,” she came closer to him at this point. “You have a lovely voice and I would love to sing with you in the future, when you are sober.” At that, she kissed his cheek and left the room, while waving goodbye from the door before closing it.

Ferdinand had a headache and he was feeling grossed out by the fact he didn’t wash up the night before. He probably would never drink ever again after this experience. But he will be damned if this wasn’t the happiest he felt in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> This is supposed to be funny and not super serious, hopefully you enjoyed it a bit! Constructive criticism is always appreciated. :)
> 
> Is the tradition thing a stretch? Absolutely. I was just trying to create a situation where Ferdinand got accidentally drunk.
> 
> Disney owns the Enchanted song "True Love's Kiss." I highly recommend that you look it up. Ferdinand sang Giselle's portion, but she was singing about a prince, so I changed a couple of words.
> 
> PSA: I want to emphasize that Ferdinand didn't drink with the goal of singing, not that he was coerced to do anything he didn't want to. Alcohol is not liquid courage, contrary to what media might imply. Claude's role here is to show that is ALWAYS a good idea to have some one sober (or at least that is not drinking as much) to control the group if things get out of hand. He would be the DD of the group here. They are also drinking among friends, people they trust. Alcohol incapacitates people and we should always be careful with the people we drink with. If drinking among strangers, always have a buddy with you.


End file.
